Rachel Brooks
Deputy U.S. Marshal Rachel Brooks, played by starring cast member Erica Tazel is part of the US Marshal team in Lexington, Kentucky. Biography Not much is known about Rachel other than the tiny bits of information given throughout the six seasons. Rachel spent her childhood in Hendersonville, Tennessee, raised by her mother after her father died of cancer. She later moved to Lexington, Kentucky. The oldest of two sisters, Rachel was always left as the emergency parent for her younger sister while her mother was out working. Despite these added responsibilities, Rachel finished high school, went to college at Ole Miss (University of Mississippi), and eventually joined the Marshal's Service as a Deputy US Marshal. After an auto-accident in which her sister was killed and her brother-in-law survived, Deputy Marshal Brooks took in her nephew and raised him with the help of her mother. Despite the high tensions surrounding her job, she is always calm, level headed, and takes her orders seriously. It's revealed by Art Mullen in the Season 4 episode, "Where's Waldo?" that Rachel left her husband prior to the events of the fourth season. Season 1 Season 2 In The Moonshine War Rachel asks fellow deputy marshal Raylan Givens to accompany her to Harlan on her trip to investigate a tip about the child molester James Earl Dean being seen talking to a young girl at the McCready place. Kentucky State Trooper Tom Bergen joins them when they question Walt McCready, who denies having called the state tip line despite Bergen telling him the call was registered with his name and address. Bergen realizes why when Rachel mentions the name of the company Dean works for, identifying it as owned by the Bennet clan. Rachel and Raylan follow up on this by visiting Mags Bennett's store, where she denies any knowledge of or association with Dean. The two marshals next visit Dickie and Coover Bennett's house; Raylan takes point in the discussion, with Rachel staying in the background close to the car. Dickie admits to having hired Dean and says that he left recently. Coover is shooting rats out-back during the first part of the conversation, later appearing with a dead rat in one hand and his hand-gun in the other. When told that Raylan is a 'federal' Coover throws the rat at the marshals' car and proceeds to make veiled threats. Rachel quitely draws her weapon during the exchange and calmly replies to Raylan that she will shoot Coover if Raylan will take a step in either direction, implied so that she gets a clear shot. The situation is resolved without bullets. While in the car with Rachel Raylan gets a call from Tom Bergen with information on Dean's whereabouts; they arrive at a gas station where he is filling up his car. Raylan approaches the car while Rachel covers Dean who has gone to pay. As Raylan is talking to Loretta McCready in the trunk of the car, Rachel warns him that Dean is coming back. She again draws her weapon in the background while Raylan catches and keeps Dean's attention leading to a non-violent capture of Dean and recovery of Loretta. Rachel is next seen in For Blood or Money discussing the escape of her brother-in-law Clinton Moss from the half-way house where he is serving parole. She identifies her nephew Nick Moss's school as the place Clinton is likely to head for given that it is Nick's birthday. When she comments about how they need to get a team together to lock down the school Art agrees with her, but says she can't take lead. Over her objection she instructs her to go and get Nick and bring him to the office, putting Raylan in charge of the lock-down of the school. Rachel is next seen back in the office with Nick, where he is bantering with her about finding her a husband, showing her a picture from a federal data base of prisoners. When Raylan returns to the office Rachel sends Nick to get a soda and reproaches Raylan for letting Clinton get away. Art asks her if she has heard from her mother, and Rachel says she tried phoning but got no answer and that she is heading over there to check it out. Art tells Raylan to go with her; while waiting on the elevator Rachel fills Raylan in on how Clinton killed her sister Shawnee: "driving while high". When the ring the door bell at Rachel's mother's house there is no answer. Rachel opens the door with a key to find broken pieces of ceramic on the floor and her mother tied up in the bathroom. Rachel's mother explains to Rachel and Raylan that Clinton had demanded she give him her car, which she avoided by saying she had flushed the keys, and then went on to try to shoot him to keep him from leaving. However he did leave with her gun and extra clip. Raylan gets a phone call telling him that Clinton had phoned the office looking for Rachel to make a deal. Rachel, Raylan and Tim enter the restaurant where Clinton is waiting for them; his programme manager Olander and the drug dealer Ralph 'Flex' Beeman Clinton stole a car from have joined him with Flex pointing a gun at Clinton when the marshals enter. Rachel shoots and kills Flex, and then talks Clinton into surrendering himself, repeatedly instructing her fellow marshals not to shoot him. Rachel takes Nick to see his father in federal lock-up and agrees that he can keep the Furbot Clinton bought him for his birthday. Afterwards she tells Art, Tim and Raylan of her childhood while having drinks in Art’s office, remarking that the Cosby-like childhood she thought she had was a fiction. Later when she and Raylan are the only people left in the office he talks to her about the shooting, saying that she did what had to be done. In Blaze of Glory Rachel escorts Jenny Reasoner, the wife of fugitive bank robber Frank Reasoner into the conference room for her interview and is present in the background during the interview. She later interviews Winona, showing her a photo of Bobby Green who Winona identifies as one of the bankrobbers. When Tim joins the interview and complains about having to scan all bills that are taken into evidence Rachel reprimands him in a big sisterly fashion. Rachel is also present during the setting up for Mrs Reasoner's video chat with her husband in Art's office escorting her away when Frank Reasoner asks to speak on his own with Art. In the locker room when the marshals are getting ready to head out to Tates Creek Bridge, where Reasoner said the bank robbers would be, Rachel answers Art's questions about the operation in a manner that suggests she is leading that operation. Season 3 Season 4 In "Hole in the Wall", she is present in the Marshals office when Raylan gets the call from Sharon Edmunds about capturing Jody Adair. Rachel questions Raylan on where he is going, but Raylan brushes it off with a lie and heads out. In "This Bird Has Flown", Rachel accompanies Raylan on his task to find Randall Kusik and Lindsey Salazar. Rachel also reveals her knowledge of Raylan's secret money, but Raylan never discloses how much money he got for the reward. Before Raylan departs to the farm to find Randall and Lindsey, Rachel hands him a shotgun full of bean bag rounds. In "Kin", she calls Raylan down to the Marshal's office. In "Outlaw", she is seen at the end, informing Raylan that he will still get to close the case when he argues against time off. In "Get Drew", she is seen waiting with Raylan at the roadblock, where the two exchange banter until Art arrives. Later, she accompanies Raylan to the abandoned field where Nick Augustine, an associate of the Tonin family will be picking up Shelby Parlow. In "Decoy", Rachel, Raylan, Art, and Tim (along with Shelby) are held up in Arlo's house. Art and Tim soon leave to go to the meeting place for Shelby's transfer, and the remaining three head to the old high school after Art calls Raylan and warns him to leave after coming to the set-up. Later, Rachel is seen with Shelby in tow on the coal train as Shelby escapes Harlan. In "Peace of Mind", Rachel and Tim accompany Raylan to Ellstin Limehouse's holler. Rachel and Limehouse exchange barbs back and forth. Limehouse assures them Ellen May is not on the property, but dares them to search it. Raylan and Rachel depart to Johnny's bar to talk to Boyd. Raylan punches Boyd's associate, Jimmy, in the stomach and forces him to call Boyd. Rachel and Raylan learn that Ellen May is at the church and they are headed there via speaker phone. In "Ghosts", Rachel appears briefly at the Marshals office, telling Raylan not to paint the nursery pink. Season 5 In "The Kids Aren't All Right", Rachel appears briefly along with Tim and Raylan as they arrest Charles Monroe. Tim and Rachel take Monroe away in Raylan's car. In "Good Intentions", Rachel is assigned to stay at the Monroe household with Raylan by Art after Raylan was threatened by Henry Granger Sr.. In "Shot All to Hell", Rachel is seen along with other Marshals as they capture Theo Tonin, and seen back at the Marshals office where Art is celebrated as a hero. In "Kill the Messenger", Rachel accompanies Raylan as he sets out to get revenge against Danny Crowe for his assault on Alison Brander. Rachel admits to Raylan that she hoped he would open up about what made Art and Raylan come to blows, to which Raylan says that he thinks the world of Rachel but he isn't telling her anything, given what it could bring down on all of them. In "Raw Deal", Rachel accompanies Raylan and Tim, and other fellow US Marshals as they arrest both Kemp and later T.C. Fleming. In "The Toll", Rachel is first seen at the hospital, where she hugs Leslie Mullen. She laters helps out at the Marshal's office in the investigation of Art's shooting. After the situation is resolved because of Kendal's confession, Chief Deputy Ed Kirkland (who was being interim for Art during the investigation) gives her a sheet of paper, naming her interim Chief Deputy and congratulates her. In "Starvation", Rachel assists Raylan and Tim in the sting operation to help catch Daryl by having Boyd direct them to the old barn in Loyal where the heroin is located, and later when they stake out Audrey's when Boyd wears a wire, hoping to get Daryl's confession to shooting Art on tape. In "Restitution", Rachel and Tim show up at Ava's house (as Boyd had been texting Raylan the entire him he was being held captive, and pretended that he was talking to Daryl). A shootout ensues between Alberto Ruiz, Manuel and Manolo (the formers are killed by Rachel and Tim and the latter is killed by Boyd when he runs into the house for protection). After the shootout is over, Rachel threatens to bring down Boyd when she becomes chief. Later, David Vasquez talks to Rachel, Tim and Raylan, wanting to bring down Boyd in a RICO case. Rachel wants Raylan to help them out before his transer to Florida, and he easily agrees. Season 6 In "Fate's Right Hand", Rachel is now serving as the interim Chief Deputy during Art's recovery. Rachel is seen in her office (along with David Vasquez) as they both inform Raylan that Dewey Crowe is being released from prison. In "Cash Game", Rachel is briefly seen at the Marshals office with Vasquez as she instructs Tim and Raylan to investigate the person whose deposit box at the bank was robbed. In "Noblesse Oblige", Rachel, Raylan and Vasquez meet up with Ava, with the former two threatening her to find useful information against Boyd ASAP or be thrown back in prison. Rachel then helps Raylan on his investigation, as he visits an old mining buddy and explosives owner named Luther Kent, who has ties to Boyd. After Tyler Kent, Luther's son is arrested on Emulex charges, Rachel tells Raylan that she hopes he knows what he is doing after releasing Boyd's henchman Earl and using Tyler to flip on Boyd for the RICO case. In "Sounding", she and Tim scope out Albert Fekus's house and notice a man sitting outside nearby in a maroon car. Later, Rachel and Tim oversee Duffy and Mike interrogating Fekus with a cattle prod as he attempts to find out more information about his crisis of conscience that led to Ava's release from prison. After they leave, Rachel tells Fekus he is off the hook and Tim fist bumps him and says that Uncle Sam thanks him for his cooperation. In "Alive Day", Rachel and Art discuss the old Hale case as Art brings up the possibility that Markham could have really been the snitch against Hale. Rachel also brings up her concerns that Raylan could be sleeping with Ava again and that it could very well ruin the RICO case they are setting up against Boyd. In "The Hunt", Rachel leads the manhunt for Walker and allows Raylan to "decompress" after he learns that Winona and their daughter Willa are back in Kentucky. Later, Rachel calls Raylan and informs him that Ava has been located at Bulletville. In "Dark as a Dungeon", Raylan calls Rachel and gives her good and bad news: Good news is that he knows Boyd is going to blast underneath the vault at The Portal to steal the money but the bad news is, he knows that Ava is burned and the RICO case is in jeopardy. Rachel tells Raylan to show up in the morning to hash things out. In "Burned", Rachel is seen with Raylan, Art, Tim and Vasquez as they discuss the possibility of the RICO case being compromised due to Raylan's suspicions that Ava blabbed to Boyd. She is later seen staking out the mine that Boyd was supposed to be emerging from with Tim and becomes frustrated when the heist didn't go as planned due to the explosion not causing damage. Raylan assures her that Boyd will just come for the money harder and stupidly since Markham will move it. In "Trust", Rachel is present in the office with Vasquez when Raylan calls them and says that Ava says that Boyd isn't going after the truck but instead going after Markham's money as he knows it is a trap. When Carl and Earl are instead arrested at the site and Boyd is not present, Rachel tells a frustrated Vasquez that Ava was right all along. In "Fugitive Number One", Art arrives at the Marshals office and exclaims to Rachel that he tried to take the heat for Ava's escape but that Rachel had already called the director and took responsibility but says that he won't suspend Rachel because she managed to catch Boyd. David rants to Art and Rachel his belief that Raylan and Ava conspired together to steal the $10 million together right under the Marshals noses as Raylan, who normally loves to shoot his gun, did not draw on either Boyd or Ava and that if that is the case, it could be a career-ending move for him and Rachel. In "The Promise", Rachel helps out his fellow Marshals during the manhunt for Ava and Boyd, where they eventually find Boyd who throws dynamite sticks at them. Later, Rachel says her goodbyes to Raylan in a callback to their earlier conversation about his hat from the first season. Relationships Family *Unnamed Mother* (see note below) *Joe: Ex-Husband* *Shaunee Moss: Sister, Deceased *Clinton Moss: Brother-in-law *Nick Moss: Nephew Law Enforcement *Art Mullen: Boss, Chief Deputy US Marshal *Tim Gutterson: Coworker, Deputy US Marshal *Raylan Givens: Coworker, Deputy US Marshal *Nelson Dunlop: Coworker, Deputy US Marshal * Rachel's mother appeared in the episode "For Blood or Money", but her name was never mentioned. Victims * Ralph 'Flex' Beeman: Drug dealer and aspiring magician * Guero Moncada: Assassin working for Carlos Salazar * Manuel: A henchman working for Yoon and Alberto Ruiz Memorable Quotes *"Please, either one of you. Do something stupid." *"When I was Nick's age, before my father's cancer, I thought we were the Cosbys. My parents had good jobs, there was a feast on the table after church on Sundays. Shawnee and I would ride our huffys around the neighborhood. We had good hair, and made straight A's. Except, as my mother reminds me, that wasn't reality. The jobs weren't all that good, and my father was never a happy man even before he got sick. And Shawnee was smoking pot at 9 and running away to smoke heroin at 15." Trivia *Rachel has appeared in the least amount of Justified episodes out of the starring cast. Appearances Image Gallery Category:Season 1 Characters Category:Season 2 Characters Category:Season 3 Characters Category:Season 4 Characters Category:Season 5 Characters Category:Season 6 Characters Category:Characters Category:Starring Characters Category:Living Characters Category:Law Enforcement